,At Bethel School we have 11 raised beds for students to plant and grow their own food. I explained to the students that more than 30% of our food relies on pollinators like bees, butterflies, and wasps in order to produce the vegetables and fruits we eat. I also emphasized how important it is to grow organically without pesticides and chemicals to keep our pollinators alive and healthy. Thanks to a Captain Planet grant, we now have a pollinator garden to help our fruits and vegetables thrive.

We began our pollinator project at Bethel School on May 18, by picking up our pollinator plants we received from Gardens of the Blue Ridge. We received two of each plant: American Columbine, Butterfly Weed, Blue Indigo, Lance Leaf Coreopsis, Pale Purple Conefllower, Rough Blazing Star, Spiked Grayfeather, Cardinal Flower, Blue Lobelia, Wild Bergamot, Black-eyed Susan, Goldenrod, Stiff Goldenrod, Smooth Aster, New England Aster, and Ironweed.

We began our pollinator gardens on May 19 by preparing the sites. With the 7th and 8th grade students we began planting our pollinator gardens and later, with the grade 6 students, installed pollinator habitat and no spray signs.

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Author:Debbie learned about gardening from her grandmother and has had a vegetable garden for most of her adult life. She is the Garden Coordinator and "Grandparent garden mentor" at Bethel Elementary and loves sharing her joy and knowledge of gardening with students, teachers, and Bethel community. She also manages the Appalachian State University Edible Schoolyard. ​